Chad Scott, a leading Democratic candidate for sheriff of Alachua County, focuses on drug enforcement as a pillar of his campaign.
He is also the father of a man who died of an illegal drug overdose last year.
Chad Scott Jr., 29, died Aug. 31, 2023, from an overdose of illegal methamphetamine. His father announced his candidacy for sheriff three months prior. Since his son’s passing, Scott has not spoken openly about his son’s passing. He also hasn’t mentioned his son in meet-the-candidate questionnaires for the campaign.
"You have to be dedicated to your community," Scott said during a candidate forum in June. "I have done that. This is nothing about Chad Scott. This is about my community, which I love and which you love, so I can protect your kids and your children."
Chad Scott Sr.'s campaign website, which cites drug enforcement as one of his priorities, includes photographs of his daughters but not his deceased son. Scott brushed off questions from a reporter this week about how his son’s passing has influenced his candidacy for sheriff or informed the way he views drug enforcement.
“I don’t think it has affected my campaign in any kind of way, at all,” Scott said.
The criminal case against the man accused of selling Chad Scott Jr. the methamphetamine, Jose "Albey" Alberto Coronel, 46, of Gainesville, was expected to be resolved on the day of the primary election, Aug. 20.
Coronel is charged with methamphetamine trafficking, possession with intent to sell methamphetamine and amphetamine near a school, selling methamphetamine near a school, living in a home used for drug sales, using a phone for illegal purposes, and possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Chad Scott Sr. and his son's mother, his ex-wife Miquisha Scott, played a pivotal role in identifying Coronel as the mysterious drug dealer known as "Jose Unteathered," according to court records. Sheriff's detectives responding to a medical emergency found Chad Scott Jr. dead and his cell phone nearby. His parents gave detectives permission to search the phone, where they found what they said was evidence of drug sales over the WhatsApp message service, the sheriff's office said.
Detectives used the phone to try to buy drugs from Coronel, whom they arrested when they arrived at his home near Metcalfe Elementary, according to court records. "It was clear that Scott was purchasing narcotics from Jose," deputy William Black wrote in Coronel's arrest report.
Chad Scott Sr. is listed as a witness for the prosecution in the case, according to court records. Scott said he has not closely followed the case. He said in an interview he didn't remember Coronel’s name.
“That’s not going to bring my son back,” Scott said.
Coronel is scheduled to change his not guilty plea in a hearing on Aug. 20. Coronel’s defense lawyer, Steven G. Frisco, declined through an assistant to answer questions about the case.
Scott has raised nearly $45,000 in his campaign — the most of any Democratic candidate for sheriff — and has spent a little over $39,000.
Former Sheriff Sadie Darnell fired Chad Scott Sr., who then was a sheriff's deputy sergeant, from the department in September 2007 over allegations he failed to properly supervise his subordinates and that he failed to be honest. A career service appeals board reversed an earlier suspension, and Scott unsuccessfully sued in 2008 to get his old job back.
Scott said Darnell had “controlled the whole narrative” regarding his firing.
“I was wrongfully terminated,” Scott said.
Scott rejoined the sheriff's office in February 2022, after Watson beat Darnell in the sheriff's re-election. He resigned as a colonel from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office in 2023 to run for the office and is currently a captain with the Alachua Police Department.
The incumbent sheriff, Emery Gainey, is the leading Republican in the race.
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Gainey to replace Sheriff Clovis Watson, who resigned in the midst of his first term in October 2023. The sheriff's administration under Watson is the focus of an ongoing investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
